Watching television is supposed to be a leisure experience, an opportunity to zone out in front of the boob tube. But the other day I experienced emotions far from relaxation. As I flipped through the stations, I found myself becoming nervous and my heart rate noticeably increased. My mouth went dry, my palms began to sweat and it took only a few minutes to realize that my body was displaying symptoms of fear. Finally, I had to turn off the television just to curb my anxiety.
I wasn’t watching a horror film. I was watching the 6 o’clock news.
If news stations are on your normal channel flip, then this will sound familiar. Surfing between CNN, NBC, ABC and yes, even FOX (but only for a good laugh), I found no respite from the constant bombardment of, well, scariness.
Between the war in Iraq, the burgeoning turmoil with Iran, Venezuela building an army, Korea building nuclear warheads, and China sitting quietly (but threateningly), on the sidelines, the media have the “first story” with full coverage.
I think it’s good the media are keeping viewers informed of international goings-on, but unfortunately, a lot of it is negative. And my point isn’t that the news should always report happy things, but with all of the problems I already have to be worried about, do they have to intensify my fears unnecessarily?
The media’s responsibility at the core is to inform. Although endless hours could be spent debating the hidden intents of corporate backers and outright biases of whichever news station (you fill in the blank), I think the more important issue here is that I’m being told to fear practically everything. I want to fly on an airplane with a Gatorade and a gel bra without fearing “the corrupt truth behind airport searches.” It’s bad enough they wand me for my underwire.
Americans understand the threat of terrorism – the bankrupted airlines attest to that. And a healthy dose of fear can keep you alive if the situation warrants it. But on top of being afraid of terrorists, should we be afraid of the precautions taken to prevent a terrorist attack? Thank goodness the government discontinued the terrorist rainbow thing. I’m not sure what the colors meant, but I personally looked forward to orange days.
The kinds of recommendations the media make to “protect” ourselves from whatever scary thing they’re talking about at that specific moment (Anthrax, Asian Bird Flu, Mad Cow Disease) are slightly reminiscent of the duck-and-cover days of the Cold War era.
As a country, we are afraid. We avoid travel, whether or not it’s a red day. We don’t trust the guy behind us in line at the airport.
I want to know about what’s going on in the world, even if it is scary, but the hyped-up scare tactics spewing from the mouths of anchor people each evening make me think: This is how the terrorists are really winning.